This invention deals with a means of providing a branch point in a pipe or conduit. More specifically, this invention deals with a means of providing a leak-proof mechanical attachment to a pipe used for fluid transport. This invention also deals with a means of providing a branch point for conduit, such as electrical or telephone wire conduit, so that quick, efficient means can be utilized to change existing conduit systems to meet the demands of relocation of electrical service and telephone service.
Conventional means of providing such attachments have included a shutdown of the system, the cutting of the system and the insertion of tees and securing such tees by welding or threading the pipe. The long interruption of service, as well as the labor required for such changes, is expensive and especially so where the system being refurbished is an older system which has been installed without regard to possible repair or change.
More modern devices have been developed which allow for the efficient establishment of branch points on a main pipe system. Such devices are, for example, the device disclosed by Carey in U.S. Pat. No. 3,292,954, issued Dec. 20, 1966. This device is a service clamp, having as its main themes, a novel clamping part, a holding part and a connecting part. The device fits the surface of a pipe but does not intrude into the pipe. The sealing system is a conventional elastomeric O-ring which lays flat on the surface of the pipe and takes on the contour of the pipe as the device is secured to the pipe.
A further device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,999,785, issued to James Blakely on Dec. 28, 1976. The essence of the Blakely patent is a novel pressure sensitive gasket. There is provision in the device for a metal spigot which is insertable in an aperture in a pipe. Before the spigot is inserted in the aperture, the gasket is slipped over the spigot and the combination helps align the pipe and allegedly prevents leaks from the connection. It should be noted that the gasket is a surface gasket and does not enter the aperture in the pipe. It lays on the surface of the pipe and is designed in a saddle shape to fit the contour of the pipe. Tabs are provided on the gasket to keep it secure in the mechanical pipe outlet and to allegedly prevent the gasket from misaligning while being placed and secured.
Yet another prior art device is one disclosed by J. G. Hayden in U.S. Pat. No. 1,178,234, issued Apr. 4, 1916. Hayden describes a pipe saddle having a spigot which is insertable in the aperture of a pipe. This apparatus has an O-ring type of gasket which lays on the surface of the pipe and is compressed to the contour of the outer surface of the pipe when the device is clamped in place. There is no gasketing of the spigot in the aperture.
Finally, there is a device described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,157,195, issued June 5, 1979. This device is a C-shaped device which has a spigot and which is alleged to be efficient in installation. The device uses a surface gasket similar to that described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,999,785, noted supra. As in the '785 patent, the gasket described in the '195 patent is a designed, surface gasket which does not gasket the spigot of the device in the aperture.
In spite of the allegations in the above enumerated disclosures, there still exists a need for a truly leak-proof device which can be quickly and efficiently installed to provide a branch point in a pipeline or conduit system.